Present and Ancient Numerals of Sheep and Goats in Oman: What is in the numbers?

n Oman, the numerals of sheep and goats in the present time reflect a clear disparity in both animals' populations numbers. The Agricultural Census 2018 stated that the livestock of Oman contains 2,302,000 goats and 605,000 sheep. The divergence between the two animals is attracting attention and notice through the unexpected and conspicuous population numbers. In addition, archaeological excavations in Oman and the United Arab Emirates indicated the same situation during prehistory. This paper examines the discrepancy in the numbers of the sheep and goat populations in Dhofar region, southern Oman. There must be an explanation for this disproportion between goat and sheep in prehistoric and present times. This is an attempt to find the compels and the conditions that characterize this discrepancy. It examines the environmental conditions in Dhofar for both animals and the preference of the traditional herdsmen in Dhofar over sheep and goat. Moreover, the paper examines the effect of copper in soil and grass on both animals and finally provides the archaeological record of the osteological remains of sheep and goat. The examination of these factors can possibly facilitate a reasonable analogy between the present and prehistoric situation.